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"I intend to take that practice into the future because it's the right thing to do as Prime Minister of Australia," he said.

"If that means making decisions that may be popular or unpopular, that's part of the job.

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"I don't intend to change that in the future for the simple reason that acting in the national interest is fundamental to our country's future. I don't intend to change."

Mr Rudd said that as Prime Minister, his key responsibility was to make decisions which were "necessary to Australia; some will be popular others will not be popular. My job as Prime Minister is to make decisions."

The poll almost certainly shrinks the window in which Mr Rudd is likely to call the federal election, making earlier dates less attractive for Labor.

Under section 13 of the constitution, Mr Rudd can hold a "full term" election between August 7 and April 16, 2011.

Holding the election at the beginning of the timeframe would require the Prime Minister to announce the date and to set in motion the campaign in just two months' time.

In fact, his options are already limited by the Christmas break and the fixed dates of elections in Victoria and NSW, which mean the election needs to be held by the end of October.

He is a shallow opportunist

Mr Rudd reduced his flexibility further last week when he placed on hold his emissions trading scheme.

The delay made a double dissolution election less likely.

The troubled scheme is one of the Prime Minister's available triggers for using the extraordinary "double d" provisions to call an election.

Treat turnaround with caution: Newspoll boss

Newspoll head Martin O'Shannessy warned the Coalition not to get too excited about today's poll.

"Labor's taken a hit," he told ABC Radio today.

But he warned the big turnaround should be treated with caution, saying it fell in the "rogue poll" range.

"We think these numbers are probably telling us there is a protest vote ... probably against the shelving of the ETS [emissions trading scheme]."

When asked what advice he would be giving Opposition Leader Tony Abbott about the poll, Mr O'Shannessy told Sky News: "Don't get too excited; we haven't seen all of those [Labor] votes coming across to the Coalition."

Instead, minor parties were picking up much of the dissatisfaction with the government.

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner acknowledged the past fortnight had been a tough period for the government.

"Some announcements [were] not exactly wildly popular, and one or two things didn't go precisely according to plan in terms of how they were announced," he told ABC Radio.

"So it's hardly surprising that there's a bit of a reflection in one opinion poll."

The government was prepared to take some hits along the way, Mr Tanner said.

"We've had occasional dips in the past and then bounced back, so I'm confident that we will bounce back."

Mr Tanner took a swipe at the Australian Greens, blaming the minor party for Labor's failure to win parliamentary approval for its carbon pollution reduction scheme.

"They have got as many questions, if not more questions to answer than the government on this."

Fellow frontbencher Craig Emerson was not surprised that support for the government had flagged in the past fortnight.

He cited decisions such as shelving the ETS, scrapping the botched home insulation scheme and walking away from an election pledge to build hundreds of childcare centres as reasons for a fall in voter support.

"I think that it's more likely than not after a period like that the polls will go down rather than go up," Dr Emerson told ABC Television.

The poll was taken before details of the Henry tax review and the government's response to it were released on Sunday, but followed Labor's decision to raise the tax on tobacco.

If the poll result was replicated at a federal election, the Coalition would secure an eight-seat majority in parliament.

Mr Rudd's popularity has taken a dramatic nosedive in the poll.

His approval rating of 39 per cent, down from 50 per cent two weeks ago, is Mr Rudd's lowest ever as Labor leader.

It was also the biggest plunge in approval for any leader ever recorded in 20 years of Newspoll surveys.

Opposition frontbencher George Brandis described that shift as "very striking", saying there had been a "sharp collapse" in public respect for Mr Rudd.

"We've been saying all along, sooner or later, the public were bound to wake up to this bloke," he told Sky News.

"He is a shallow opportunist."

But Mr Rudd still retains a healthy margin - 50 to 32 - over Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister.

Voters no longer regard climate change action as a plus for Labor in the wake of the government's decision to defer its ETS until at least 2013.

There was only one percentage point separating the two major parties and "someone else" when Newspoll asked voters who they thought would best handle the issue of climate change.

Backing for Labor fell eight points to 27 per cent, one point ahead of the Coalition and "someone else".

On health and Medicare, Labor retains its advantage over the Coalition.

But voters did not entirely embrace Mr Rudd's much-heralded health reforms which included the Commonwealth becoming the dominant funder of public hospitals.

Labor was regarded by 45 per cent of Newspoll respondents as best able to handle the issue of health against 32 per cent for the Coalition.

But the result was a three-point fall on the previous poll and a five-point drop on the previous high in March 2010.